According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, in rather shocking news, the Dallas Mavericks will most likely be without Anthony Davis for a couple of months. He has sustained ligament damage to his left hand.

If Davis does not need surgery, then the Mavericks will be without him for six weeks. However, if he would need surgery, then it would require extra time of recovery, most likely meaning he would miss multiple months.

Due to the timing of his latest injury, this could run him past the NBA trade deadline. That means the Mavericks will have no value in him to be able to move him off their books. He suffered the injury during Thursday’s loss to the Utah Jazz.

Before this injury, the 32-year-old athlete was out multiple weeks due to a calf strain.

Davis is due $58.5 million next season, and has a player option for $62.8 million in 2027-28.

According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, the Anthony Davis sweepstakes are beginning to rise as the NBA inches closer and closer to the trade deadline this February 5th.

The Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors, Golden State Warriors, and Milwaukee Bucks have emerged as legit interested teams wanting the one-time NBA champion.

When looking at all these teams, there is a massive con to each side that may prevent them from being able to acquire the two-way big man.

For the Warriors, matching salary is going to be the biggest issue. Not because they physically can’t make it work, but because they are reportedly not budging off Draymond Green or Jimmy Butler. All it would take is to move off one of those two players to match salary, but Golden State isn’t in the business of that currently.

The same can be said for the Bucks, but it’s not a reluctancy of giving up assets, it’s rather a matter of finding any assets to trade to match salaries and that actually compels Dallas to trade him to their organization. Right now, Milwaukee doesn’t even have any draft capital to give the Mavericks.

If Milwaukee can somehow make this work, then they would have the biggest selling point to convince Giannis Antetokounmpo to stay in Milwaukee. They reportedly still fear him potentially wanting to leave the team for a more stable organization.

Toronto actually has the best odds of landing him, in terms of having the right amount of capital and tradable assets for the center. However, Dallas isn’t looking for long-term contracts, which is something the Raptors have a bunch of.

Per ESPN’s Shams Charania, Atlanta is considering Davis as a “prime time target”. This immediately follows them trading Trae Young to the Washington Wizards. They have expiring contracts they can give up in a deal and the right amount of draft capital to satisfy the Mavericks’ desires.

With acquiring CJ McCollum, and having Kristaps Porzingis, the Mavericks could leverage them into striking a deal with Dallas to get their center to pair next to Jalen Johnson – the new face of the franchise.

Based solely on this, reportedly, the Hawks would be in the best position to land Anthony Davis. Plus, Davis has shown interest in joining the Hawks.

At this time, it is unclear the direction the Mavericks want to take, along what path Davis wants to pursue. Many different reports are pulling fans and spectators into many different directions.

According to Chris Haynes, if Anthony Davis were to be traded before the deadline, the Golden State Warriors have emerged as a potential suitor for him.

There has been tons of speculation and rumors surrounding the future of the Dallas Mavericks and their plans concerning Davis; since firing general manager Nico Harrison, they’ve taken a patient route in order to figure out their future.

If the Warriors were to put together a serious trade offer, Golden State would need to center it around Draymond Green and Jonathan Kuminga. Financially speaking, Davis is making $54.1 million this season. The Warriors are just $264,000 below their second-apron hard cap.

This would force them into giving up Kuminga’s $22.5 million salary, as long with Green’s $25.8 million salary. With those two contracts, it would be a base start to be able to plot the foundation to secure the NBA champion.

General manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. is going to have to weigh his options when it comes to Green, Davis, and the future of this team. Reports have come out that they won’t trade core members of this team, but, if they want Davis, according to the experts, they would need to attach core members to be able to get Davis.

If they were to land the 32-year-old, it would set up Stephen Curry to have legitimate second and third option in Jimmy Butler and Davis. Plus, for the front office, finally put an end to their Kuminga situation.